Social Networking, its Influence on Social and Psychological Well-being, and Implications for Counseling

Abstract

Once seen as little more than a hobby, social networking is steadily influencing culture in many ways. Social networking affects how users connect with one another, impacting how they choose to represent themselves online, and further, how they define themselves offline. Is social networking helping to foster more curious, empathic individuals, or just a culture of narcissistic over-sharers? The researcher of this study extended previous research by investigating the links between the Millennial generation, their trends of social networking use including gender differences, and their feelings of psychological and social well-being. The Social Networking Cognitive and Affective Experience Scale (SNCAES) was developed based on key features of the literature on Internet use and used to assess Millennials’ experience with various social networking platforms. The participants’ social and psychological well-being was found to be significantly dependent on their daily social networking usage. Use of specific social networking platforms also had a significant positive or negative relationship with psychological and social well-being. The results of this study have implications for counseling practitioners and counseling educators.